World Golf Tour

Fdez-Castano to replace Hanson at Seve Trophy

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The Seve Trophy took another hit Monday when 2012 European Ryder Cupper Peter Hanson announced that he was withdrawing from this week’s event because of a lingering back injury.

The Swede will be replaced on the Continental Europe team by Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who will be making his third appearance in the biennial event (combined 4-5 record in 2007 and ’09).

In a statement, Hanson said, “I am really disappointed not to be able to play. Everyone knows how much I love match-play events. My back has been an issue for pretty much most of the year and it is still not 100 percent.” He added that he wants to make sure his back was strong enough to compete in the upcoming Final Series on the European Tour.

The pre-event buzz has been all about which players opted not to tee it up in France. Most of that can be attributed to scheduling – the tournament is held opposite the Presidents Cup and sandwiched in between the FedEx Cup and European Tour’s finishing kick.

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Lavner is a staff writer for GolfChannel.com and in charge of the Golf Central blog.